


All We Were Left With

by orphan_account



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Gen, Guilt, Heavy Angst, Lies, Rape, Regret, Secrets, Suicide, Torture, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-12-01 05:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11479500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The aftermaths of the Battle of New York prove to be devastating, and not just in the city itself. The five separated Avengers are each haunted by their pasts and in its suffocating darkness, as they struggle to find the light they believe would be their final salvation. When it is known that Loki's sentence is to be spent in Midgard until the regeneration of the Bifrost, animosity spreads. In desperation in their search for a caretaker, a job that nobody is willing to take, SHIELD recruits ordinary college senior Bree Newman, who knows her secrets are about to be out in the open.Seven souls, seven condemned. But when an unexpected tragedy strikes, they find themselves together, faced with impossible choices of love, hope, and other lies.





	1. Bree - Um, sorry?

Even before she decided to drop out of school for the day, Bree Newman's day wasn't going the best. 

She had overslept an hour, been marked tidy, forgotten her Critical Thinking essay at home, been reprimanded by the teacher, and found out she had failed the last exam. 

No. It wasn't the best. Maybe not even the great or the good. 

So it was just coincidence that the creepy girl with the dark blue hat she had never seen before had to pull her to the side at lunch, when the  _last thing_ _she wanted_  was company. 

She folded her arms, raised her chin, and glared. On the first day of college, that had gotten even the bitchiest chicks to avoid her for the rest of the year. This girl, however, didn't even blink an eye. 

 _Not going to work._ Bree groaned internally, relaxed her posture, and raised her eyebrows. 

"So, am I expelled, professor? That'll be a shame, because I really was working hard on that Chemistry lab report. Do you want me to show it to you? I know I failed last week's exam, but honestly, you aren't expelling me for  _one exam._ Hopefully. Anyway, I could go get the papers and—"

"I'm not your professor," said the girl with indifference. Bree considered.

"So you're a student. Well, I haven't seen you around the campus, but obviously I don't know everyone here. Or are you new? You look older, no offense."

The girl sighed. She took her hat off, revealing her face. Bree froze in her shoes.

The figure standing before her was simply perfection. She had a red shortcut, was petite but not thin, and was dressed in her trademark black. And even without those traits, she had the cool, confident demeanor that was instantly recognizable. 

"Oh my—oh, God," Bree stammered. "What in the—"

"Agent Natasha Romanoff," the girl said, a smile on her face as she extended a hand. "From SHIELD, of course."

Bree was trying to learn how to breathe and talk at the same time again. 

"Britnew . . . I mean, Newman. Brittany. But it's Bree," she mumbled stupidly, gripping Natasha's hand. "Um, sorry? About rambling about the essay?"

"No problem," Natasha smiled as she put her hat back on. "I wouldn't have minded a better disguise, but Fury says I'm not on a life-and-death mission, so this is all I was given. The security guard by the gate found out, but he promised to keep it a secret. We don't want paparazzi now, do we? This is supposed to be a little more discreet."

Bree couldn't muster her words. She was sure she was about to faint any moment.

"No need to be so nervous. I'm not here to assassinate you."

"That's good," was all Bree could manage. Natasha laughed. 

"You know, it's actually the contrary. We need you."

_SHIELD needs me?!_

"I'll explain a little more detailedly when we are in a secure location. Which," Natasha's eyes passed over the crowded cafeteria, "is not exactly this. But of course, the previous only applies if you accept."

"I have a choice?" Bree clutched the wall to steady herself.  _Does she seriously think I'm going to say no?_

"If you'd rather not—"

" _No_." 

"Problem solved. Why don't we go? It's a relief to have a little break from spying and all that. I've had enough battles back in New York. Picking up new agents from the field? Not too bad."

Bree took a wobbly step forward. Then a thought struck her. "What about school?"

"You are currently supposed to have gone home sick. We'll take further permanent measures later. But for now, that's that."

Bree nodded in relief. She trailed behind Natasha as they continued to walk down the cafeteria aisle and up the stairs. Midway, Bree stopped in her tracks as her awe vanished and her senses kicked back in.

_Do they know?_

_Oh, shit. I should've just said no._


	2. Loki: She's clearly no agent

The universe was formed out of many, yet different fragments. It was when those two fragments interacted in some way, a connection between two individuals was established. It was when an impact was made. 

They did not know if those interactions lasted. The could, and could not. But an impact would last forever. 

He couldn't help but long for Asgard as he set a hand against the cold, transparent glass that surrounded him. It had never truly been his home, but at its very least, it wasn't  _here._

Natasha Romanoff was as indifferent as always. He saw her approach from the distance, face set in stone, an unfamiliar girl trailing behind her. 

He instinctively slipped on a mask of hardened apathy at the sight of them. He knew that he was never alone—cameras were everywhere—but they weren't alive. They did not breathe. They did not move. Their mechanical hearts did not beat. All they had were their sight and hearing. 

Loki could never relax. But he came as close to it when no one was there.

His gaze was only of blankness when they came to a stop in front of him. 

"Thinking?" Agent Romanoff asked lightly. "Care to enlighten us?"

He gave no answer. It was better. It spared him of the scorn and the contempt that was sure to follow. 

"This is Agent Brittany Newman." She swept on smoothly; so was her job. To smooth things over when they were rough. "Your new . . . attendant."

For the first time, he met her eyes. She met his. For a moment, they were there, staring, green to blue, blue to green. He broke the contact first. "She's clearly no agent." 

Romanoff's jaw tightened at the slightest, while Newman shifted. Loki knew he had hit a point. So SHIELD was that desperate. Desperate enough to pick a random girl out of nowhere, with its agents' animosity as equally as strong. 

"She's a trainee."

"You would allow a mere trainee to watch over a worldwide criminal?"

"We believe our security is advanced enough to keep you in," Romanoff responded steadily. "And Asgard has made it clear that you will be stripped of your immortality if you make use of your magic without our consent. Which, I am fairly certain of, is not what you want."

Her words were met with silence. 

"Agent Newman, the guards will be here shortly," said Romanoff, turning to the girl. "But I'm afraid I must leave. The director requires me for something."

"Sure," she replied. He sensed no anger, no hatred. Only curiosity and mixed apprehension. 

It surprised him. Others resented him. Others loathed him. He felt their animosity, each and every time one of them came up to his cell and made some scathing comment. She was certainly nervous, but he quickly realized it was something other than his existence. Though exactly what, he could not penetrate. 

Romanoff gave a nod to the girl, spared a parting glance at him, then left. 

Then they were alone, him and the girl. For the time-being. With the exception of the cameras.

The girl took a hesitant step that led her to the very front of the glass. That led her to him. 

"Hey," she said. "I'm . . . well, Agent Romanoff told you my name. But I go by Bree."

'"You're not an agent." His voice was perfectly composed, blank as his face. "Are you?"

She looked uncertain, even as she replied. "Yes, I am."

"You are a poor liar, which only reinforces my theory."

She sighed in surrender. "Fine. I wasn't about three hours ago. But I am now. So technically, I wasn't lying."

"Are you so sure?" he mocked. 

"Don't," she said. "Just . . . don't. I've pretty much dropped out of college for this. So let's not make this worse."

"I suppose they didn't tell you what the job was until you agreed to the deal."

She looked down. "No, they didn't."

He had expected as much. Who would do this willingly?

"Look, don't take it the wrong way. It's not like you're my worst nightmare or anything. I just sort of lost my head when I saw the Black Widow, and agreed to whatever she was proposing."

She had surprised him, once again. An apology of sorts, something he had yet never received.

"I am not your worst nightmare," he said tonelessly, "and yet I have tried to take over your planet and enslave your race."

She shifted. "Well, I'm not the best person to judge. I wasn't anywhere you were, so I pretty much only saw stuff you did on television. Which was . . ." she sighed. "Well, I can't say it was exactly amazing."

"I believe destruction is the world you search for, Agent Newman."

"Please," she said. "Five hours here, and I'm already getting tired of being called  _agent._ Call me Bree. And—"

"Enjoying yourselves?" a new voice inquired. Loki instantly took a step back from the glass, the mask on full force once more. On the other side of the cell, Bree did the same, turning a bright red. 

"I didn't mean to—"

"Save it, Agent Newman," Romanoff responded.

"I thought the director needed you!"

"He did. Then he told me to go down with the guards." She gestured behind her, where three or four armed guards stood. Loki felt himself stiffen. 

"You can't blame us," Romanoff said, catching the flicker of a movement. "It's not like we can exactly trust you when you are out of the cell."

"And yet you have stated so eloquently of the consequences if I do not act upon your words," Loki replied coldly. 

"Better safe than sorry, I'm afraid," her gaze swept the clearing, lingering only a moment longer on Bree. "Agent Newman, you know your schedule? Stay until half past six with Laufeyson, then return by seven. A car will be waiting for you around forty."

"Understood," Bree murmured. She didn't seem fazed. 

He fixed his gaze on the ceiling as a guard pressed a few controls and he was brought outside. His last two attendants—both of them experienced agents—had not lasted an hour. He couldn't expect her to outlast her seniors. 

But something told him that that was not to be the case this time. 

He sighed, lightly. This was going to be a long day. 


End file.
